CBS 21 Community

The owner of Molly's Place, a no-kill pet rescue shelter in Mechanicsburg, is facing charges of theft after allegedly removing a dog's registration micro chip, switching it with another dog and then hiding the original dog from its owner. Meanwhile, the West Shore Humane Society has "suspended its dealings" with Molly's Place after receiving several complaints about the health of the animals Molly's adopts out.

According to Pennsylvania State Law, rescue shelters, like Molly's Place, are not subject to the state's 'Dog Purchaser Protection Act', better known as the 'Puppy Lemon Law.'  The law doesn't apply because they qualify as non-profit agencies.  It only applies to places like pet stores and private animal sellers.

Molly's Place's owner admits she went to extreme measures to protect a dog, she says was being abused. And, through her attorney, denies ever knowingly selling a sick dog.

What do you make of this?  Can you go too far to save an animal?  What about rescue shelters not being held to the same letter of the law as pet stores, even though they typically adopt out several times more animals per year?

I rescued a puppy from molly's place in April. I went in looking for a companion, a friend. I found one. I picked a very scared terrior mix puppy who was hiding under the shelving unit they had there. She was so scared and I wanted to take her home and hopefully make her happy. My puppy (who was named Prissy and is now named Nelly) is very happy and has come a long way. When I picked her I asked alot of questions. Where did she come from? What was her history? Why is she so scared?

Molly's Place, being a no-kill shelter, rescued her from a Kill shelter. They didn't know much of her history at all. They knew she was at the other shelter (which i won't name for that shelter's sake). That's all they knew. I think alot of the problem would be just this. They save dogs from the kill list. I don't understand how you can hold them horribly accountable for trying to save dogs lives. It's hard to be a shelter and know the history of all the dogs when you are getting them from other shelter's who don't go into as much detail as this shelter does. All the information I recieved from Molly's Place was extremely thorough and in depth. Everything Molly's Place did was documented. I believe that they are doing the best that they can.

In the case where the owner of Molly's Place hiding the other dog, I can understand. They recieved the dog numerous times because it was lost. If the owner of that dog had taken good care of it, it would have never run away. She was trying to protect that dog from that kind of neglagence. The case where the dog was sick, was probably information that was missing from where the puppy was rescued from before Molly's Place recieved it. I have a friend who adopted a dog from the Humane Society and she recieved NO information what-so-ever except that the dog was dropped off such day and she was adopting it on such and such a day. Thats the differance. Molly's Place gives as much information as they have, but when they are getting them from shelters who just don't have that kind of info how can you hold them accountable?

I really believe that this is a wonderful shelter, and without this shelter I wouldn't have Nelly. She's a very important part of my life.

 Ben, Thank you for the report on Molly's Place. We "adopted" two dogs from there about one year ago. Both seemed healthy, but....... one dog had intestinal parasites and the other heartworm. The dog with heartworm will be on medication the rest of her life. Plus the "adoption" fee, we have paid out of pocket expenses well over $1000.00. Kind of costly for "rescue" dogs. In addition to medical information we only received vague information on where they came from (the South) and what kind of treatment they were subjected to (who knows). One dog seems very friendly but the other only runs when I talk to her. Possibly abused by a man???? Who knows for sure? We thought Molly's Place was a bit different than pet stores or Humane Society, but after hearing of others at my wife's work who are experiencing similiar problems, my opinion has changed.

And yes they should be held to the same standards as other adoption agencies and pet stores. In essence you are purchasing a lifelong friend that you at least hope will have a long and healthy life.

The owner's attitude + lawyer's show something is being swept under the carpet. Again, thank you for opening a hot topic with your report. I guess the "buyer should be aware"!       

I was absolutely devastated when I turned the television on tonight and see Molly's Place on that screen. I adopted a lab mix puppy from Molly's Place back in October of 2004. My puppy too was sick. She was sent home from the rescue with 2 medications, one being an antibiotic. Like all my pets, I had her to my vet's office later that week. My vet took her off the antibiotics that were given to her and was replaced with something stronger. Thankfully we didn't have to go through what the poor woman on tv did and have to put her puppy down. I believe Molly's Place should be shut down. If I can be of any help with this situation I would be happy to do what I can to shut this place down.

Sincerely,
Kim Miller

I am a volunteer at Molly's Place and the spin that your station has put on her situation is patthetic and completely one-sided.  Anyone with common sense would ask, "Gee, why was this dog (from the first story you did) running around ON THE STREET, just waiting to cause an accident, without tags?  Oh, and it wasn't even neutered?  Great. How irresponsible is that to have an un-neutered dog running free able to make more puppies? How did it come about that the dog-catcher picked this dog up on two separate occassions?? Why did it take the owners several days to begin even looking for the dog?  These are questions that were not asked in your story, and it's really a shame that you are openly bashing Molly's Place.  Lori Johnston is VERY, very protective of her animals and yes, she was protecting this animal, as she felt that the condition of the dog was severe enough to raise concern.  Furthermore, Did 21 ask the Humane Society how many of their animals have died after adoption over the years?  What about the SPCA, or Helen Krause or other local shelters??  Why are you singling out Molly's Place?? Do you think Molly's Place is THE FIRST AND ONLY animal shelter to have had animals die afterward due to unforeseen illnesses? It is unfortunate, but it does happen.  Lori runs a tight ship and insists and ensures that the cages and floors, etc. are kept in tip-top shape and are EXTREMELY CLEAN.  Furthermore, she would IN NO WAY intentionally sell an animal that was knownly sick.  Any animal that she rescues is put in an isolation area and fully medicated and examined and not placed up front for adoption unless it is deemed healthy.  Did 21 bother to show the positive side of Molly's Place and all that Lori does and has done?  NO!  Why not?  What are you afraid of?  Did you ask her how many animals she takes in from owners that no longer want their pets because they're "moving" or "found it" or any other of poor excuses that the Humane Society and other shelters would most likely eventually deem "unadoptable" and be euthanized.  Did you point that out in your story?  NO, of course not.  Lori saves as many animals as she can. I have personally seen once abused animals that she has rescued go from vertually unadoptable to happily adopted weeks and MONTHS later as the animal learns not to be afraid of people and learns to trust humans again, and then goes to a happy home.  She will never destroy animal as she is a NO KILL animal shelter.  If these animals would have been taken to the Humane Society, they surely would have been killed in no time.  What don't you try updating your story and really show all the good that Lori does and has done?  Do you know that she drives all the way to Virginia to save animials from shelters that would be otherwise killed? What would be so wrong with doing a feel-good story?  Or are you so desperate for news that it has to be controversial?  Really 21, can you have a heart?  Would it be so hard to show someone doing some real good?  If Molly's Place never exsisted, The dog first the first story mostly likely would have been euthanized since the owner didn't seem to be in any rush to find their dog.  Again, would be nice to see you get the nerve to ask the real questions that any good reporter would do...challenge the owner and ask why their dog was running freely in the street, no tags, un-neutered TWICE and why they took days to look for it......Regardless, in my opinion, NO, you cannot go too far to save an animal.  Ever.  You do whatever it takes, even if not everyone agrees.  What is most important is the welfare of the animal - bottom line.

Oh, and those of you that are ignorant to all the good that Molly's Place does, do any of you who claim to be animal lovers realize what will happen to all of the animals if Molly's Place were to tragically "be shut down?"  Yes, the majority of those animals would be euthanized.  So, let's focus on what is most important - taking care of these animals and rescuing them!  THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND AND supportive words gerbil1904; you really do get it!

It's UNBELIEVABLE to me that these people can sale sick puppies when all they have to do is take a little bit of time and take care of the animal.  Make sure the animal is not sick and then put the animal put for adoption. 

From what I seen on TV.  These people are paying like $300.00 for a puppy yet they can go to the humane society and get an animal for cheaper and they know the animal has been properly checked by an actual Vet.  Not some idiot that takes a chip from one dog, then puts it into another animal then tries to pone another dog off on the people while hiding the people's real dog.

What kind of a place is this lady running?  She should have the same things done to her that she has done to the animals. 

If I could I would take every single animal she has there and bring them to my home.  I really can not understand how people get away with treating animals like trash!

 

One thing that was not mentioned.  What if something like this happens?  Who do you call?  When we livied in Mechanicsburg our next door neighbor left her very mean dog out through out the worsted storm we have had in years yet this dog was stuck outside and not able to reach what little shelter it ad.  It was so cold that the dog could not have had any drinkable water.  No wonder the dog  was so mean,  the poor thing sat out in the snow shivering and crying.  I called the Humane Society and they told me to contact our local police department.  I did and the police showed up and tried to look over the fence to check on the dog.  They could not really see the dog so they left and they left the dog out there.  So,  if they are not going to serve and PROTECT the innocent who is?

I agree with you-kimnray_miller and will help in any way I can.

Last fall I volunteered for a short time at Molly's Place.  I had bad feelings about the place because:

they never asked my name, address, phone number

they never had a volunteer schedule, so it was never known who would be there to help and when

they never provided orientation to the required procedures ( Indeed this posed a problem when I was asked to cleenpuppu cages and then wlak older dogs to allow them to relieve themselves.  I learned after cleaning and providing food for all puppy cages and after walking older dogs, that some of the puppies were very ill.  I was not told to use plastic gloves and to change those gloves after touching each puppy.  As a result, I may have spread the diseases to healthy puppies!!)

there were always a lot of mothers with litters of puppies, which I thought was unsual for a shelter

 

Other issues caused me to terminate my volunteer activities at this shelter.  It gave me bad feelings and this current situation confirms those feelings I hadat that time.

First off a true rescue group would not charge someone $325.00 for a puppy. My cousin recently got a great dane puppy over there and paid $500.00. ????? Sounds to me like this is a pet store not a rescue group. Seems to me that it is all about money over there not about saving animals.

How much can Lori Johnson care about these animals when she has no adoption process. You put down the money & walk out with the animal. That is a pet store. A responsible animal shelter has a process where things are checked out to assure the animal goes to a good home. It's not an on the spot transaction.

I volunteer for another area animal group & I cannot tell you how many complaints I get about Molly's Place. They want to know who can you report them to. I tell them start with the Humane Society, Attorney General's Offfice, Better Business Bureau, Dept. of Health, Dept. of Agriculture,Consumer Protection Bureau just to name a few. I have heard many a horror story about Molly's Place from these people & it makes me sick! The animals over there are suffering, they are sick & are being put up for adoption(sale) & Molly's Place does not care once that adopter walks out the door. Something needs to be done & stop the suffering, not only the animals that are sick over there but the people who adopt them & have to have their hearts broken when several days after bringing their new pet home it dies.

The news report made it sound like it's risky to get an animal from a animal shelter (lack of lemon law protection, etc.)  However, "real" animal shelters will have excellent policies for returns and follow-up health concerns, and assistance should the animal become sick.  All you have to do is ask the shelter adopting the animal about these policies.  You will probably find that the policies make it SAFER to adopt from a shelter vs. a pet store.  And you will not need to take a shelter to court to get satisfaction, since the people there have the animal's interest placed above all else!

Oh, & to the Molly's Place volunteer who responded...before you start dropping names make sure you have facts to back it up or Molly's Place will find themselves in more hot water!

 

I agree with the posting from Jan72.  I also volunteer at another area animal shelter and we have people coming in to adopt that have just come from Molly's Place and they state how dirty/smelly the place is with dogs running everywhere out of control and you can visibly see some animals are sick.  An individual who adopted from our shelter said her experience at Molly's was "horrible".  She stated they tried to push the animal on her to get the animal out the door.  In another case, a lady inquired at Molly's if the cat she was interested in was a pure breed.  The "adoption counselor" at Molly's didn't know.  The next day this lady got a return call from Molly's Place and the cat was indeed a purebreed and would cost $100 more! This sure sounds like a pet store to me- not an animal rescue. This lady then adopted from the shelter I volunteer for.  Like Jan72 states, when you adopt from a shelter you will sign an agreement and be told the conditions of the agreement. 

Where I volunteer there is a return policy for the lifetime of the animal.  I know Molly's Place does not have a lifetime return policy on the animal.  Their policy is either 2 weeks or 2 months.  2 weeks/2 months almost ensures they will never see any animals back they adopt (sell) out.  What happens to these animals if the owner can't keep them or medical problems arise that the owner can't afford?  They either end up back in another shelter where they might be put down or put back on the streets. 

Molly's Place isn't being singled out while other area shelters aren't. When you have the public coming into other shelters looking for their lifetime companion and complaining of the place they have just been to word will get out.  The other area shelters do not have these complaints from the public so that is why you don't hear of stories like these on the news about other shelters.

My advice to anyone looking to adopt is ask questions of the staff when you go to adopt about the adoption process, the animals background/health, and you should get copies of the animals medical record to take to your vet when you adopt the animal.  Ask if there is a return policy in the adoption agreement and for how long is it.  Will someone be available to counsel you if the animal is having trouble adjusting to it's new home-in short are you going to get ongoing support from the shelter where you adopt from?  These are very important points to keep in mind!

RES-CUE =  1.  To set free, as from danger or imprisonment; save. 

 

Well...after seeing yet another one sided report from WHP last night about Molly's Place it confirms my feelings - "The more people I meet...the better I love my DOG!" which by the way I adopted from Molly's!

 

The ignorance of the average news station concerning pet rescues aggravates me to NO END!  It is obvious that CBS 21 has no idea of the reality of animal rescues and by giving the general public such a one sided story they are doing a huge injustice to all the good that Molly’s Place does for unwanted, uncared for, and discarded cats and dogs.  I challenge Ben Russell to volunteer at Molly's Place for 30 days, get some first hand knowledge and then see what he reports!

 

First let’s take a hard look at Rex and the Deimler family.  Not only was their dog running, unneutered on Trindle Road (repeatedly), it was also loaded with fleas and ticks, ungroomed and it's collar was so tight it had to be cut off!  After being taken in by Molly's Place it was groomed, vetted, frontlined and microchipped (FYI: a V-chip is in your TV).  When the owner came to take their dog back they were not thankful for the care that was given to their dog instead they were angered because they were asked to pay for the services!

 

Interestingly if the Deimler's had bothered to registered the micro chip information in their name the Human Society would have called them the second time Rex was picked up but they didn't to do that even though they were given all the information and paperwork from Molly's Place.

 

I was happy to see in the news clip they actually have a leash on Rex, however Rex has been seen running the neighborhood since the charges were filed against Lori Johnston in May.  Let’s not forget the Deimler's had another dog that just "disappeared", again if they were responsible pet owners NONE of this would have ever happened!!!  At least Rex is thankful for the love and care he received.  I hope the Deimler’s have learned something from all of this but I fear they would rather blame their misdoings on someone else…time will tell! 

 

This is what I know:  Lori Johnston is NOT in this to make money, she does this because she has a deep love for dogs and cats and wants to help them.  She runs a very tight ship and I am sure she would never knowingly sell a sick animal to anyone.  It would defeat her purpose of rescuing these animals.  Parvo is a horrible illness and it spreads rapidly, unfortunately it is possible for some puppies to be adopted before they show signs of illness of any kind, this is why when you adopt a pet from Molly’s Place it comes with 30 days of pet insurance and a medical history.

 

 “How much can Lori Johnson care about these animals when she has no adoption process. You put down the money & walk out with the animal. That is a pet store. A responsible animal shelter has a process where things are checked out to assure the animal goes to a good home. It's not an on the spot transaction.” 

That statement is totally untrue!  I have seen on more than one occasion people be turned down because they do not meet the criteria of the “adoption process” to adopt a pet from Molly’s.  I know for a fact the Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau doesn’t have one bad report about Molly’s Place so all those people you refer to obliviously didn’t feel the need to follow through with their complaints!

Jan72, take your own advice “before you start dropping names make sure you have facts to back it up”!  Perhaps if all our local shelters would stop fighting among themselves they could work together for the good of all the animals!

Why don't you take all of the animals to your house?  Oh yes, that would be a bother.  Don't cast the first stone.

My husband and I adopted 2 puppies from Molly's Place back in May and so fare we haven't had any problems with them at all..

 

But with any Shelter u go to including the SPCA or the PUND or the HUMANIE SCOITY u take a risk of adopting that PET from them...

 

With Molly's Place we watched them for a couple of days before we decided to about our puppies from them...

 

When we did adopted them we wore giving 30dys of Pet insurance plus a free certificate to take them to the vet and also we had to call and register the V-CHIP as well..

 

U get a lot of paper work from Molly's when u adopted there PETS.. U have to initials everything that u understand. Before u can leave with the PET and they inclose a letter that states signs to look for if the PUPPIE should become SICK and when to take it to the VET...

 

 

 

---

WHATEVER

I know of a similar experience regarding reports to authorities about pets that were not adequately  cared for. The police were not able to make the owners behave responsibly. They really let the matter drop. The owners allowed their un-neutered unvaccinated dogs (2) to run freely right around Trindle road. They did it alot. This is a tremendous risk to drivers and a great opportunity to increase our pet overpopulation, as well potentially spreading diseases from their dogs to other animals. One of the dogs is still missing and is presumedly dead.

I wish there was some way to take pets away from people who consistently disregard the safety and well being of their community. There isn't. It is very frustrating. Certainly, the shelter owner should not have kept the dog from their owner, but we all might have been safer. I wish there was some way to make pet owners behave responsibly. We all suffer when pet owners do not control their animals.

Having adopted a pet from Molly's Place, I know they provide pet insurance for their animals good for thirty days. I did not have to use it as my pets where healthy. The animals they get are slated for euthanization, and are rescued from some pretty terrible conditions. They are not animals from a fluffy enviroment, some of them are found in abandoned buildings, old cars, the side of the road, and they don't with a medical history.  Molly's Place takes them in, fixes up their hurts, brings their vaccinations up to date, and sees that the animals are treated for fleas and ticks, have an initial deworming, and also has them spayed and neutered. All the cats are tested for feline leukemia and Feline HIV. The animals are microchiped in case they get lost.

It would be difficult to get this amount of service from a vet for $300, and everything is already done. Animals get sick, and these animals start out behind the eight ball so they probably do get sicker and have been exposed to alot of horrible diseases. I had to wait to get my pet because it was quarantined and the Veterinarian had not cleared it for a safe adoption.

I will get my next pet at Molly's Place. I think they provide a lot of service and value for the community. All of their pets are neutered. They do not put animals down, and they have a lot of really sweet babies there. I don't care if the babies don't come with a complete history.

I am really glad for a forum like this one.